My dog is a mess. Not a terrible mess, but a mess nonetheless (in my opinion anyway). We adopted Jelly, a Rhodision Ridgeback mix, back in January from a local shelter, so we’ve had her for about 5 months. We knew she needed some work (like walking on a leash), but we decided to get her anyway. We are working on walking on a leash and she’s improved, but only when she has her Gentle Leader head collar on and ONLY when there are no distractions. We’ve also gotten her a doggie backpack to help wear out more of her energy and we were hoping that would help her focus a bit more on her walks. Anyways, slowly we are working on getting her behavior in check.

We took her to my sister’s house to play with her dogs and it was going ok, not great. They weren’t playing with eachother really, but kind of hanging out. We took them all inside and my dog sniffed at my sister’s dog’s mouth (he had gotten teeth taken out, so she must’ve smelled it) and he snapped at her and they got into a fight, which resulted in my sister’s dog having a puncture wound from my dog. 🙁 It probably was a bunch of things that resulted in it. My dog on their turf, inside in close quarters, and her dog having recently had surgery.

Fast forward to 3-4 weeks ago. My husband takes her rollerblading around the block usually every night (ok maybe not the smartest thing to do with a 65 lb dog! But it was going good so far and she loves to run). Well, this time, he went out and our neighbors were out, there was a stick and she jumped over it, but my husband didnt….. which resulted in his wrist being fractured and he had to have surgery and a cast on for 3 weeks.

This past Saturday, my neighbor comes over to give us some mail she had gotten accidentally and my dog ( who I had made sit before I opened the door) ran out and was GONE. I mean, she just took off like a cheetah and wouldn’t come back. She was running all over the place, in the road and took off to the houses behind where we live. The ONLY reason we were able to get her was because she and this dog behind a fence were going at it.

I’m beyond frusterated with her. I’ve never had a dog that wasn’t trained/well behaved before and it’s driving me CRAZY. I was super embarrased that she wouldn’t listen and after we got back, I had a complete meltdown, sobbing to my DH and telling him I can’t do it anymore. I love my dog, but she stresses me out too much! And I keep thinking, how am I supposed to have kids and take her on a walk with a stroller when she freaks out when she sees cats/dogs/squirrels/etc.

So this is why I’m writing: I know we need help training her. I’ve given up trying to do it by myself. Have any bees done dog training for an adult dog? Mine is 1.5 years old. Did you do group classes? Private? Doggie boot camp? What worked? What should I be looking for in a trainer? How much did it cost?

I would LOVE some advice and even words of encouragement because I’ve lost a lot of my hope for her! We can’t do anything that we wanted a dog for. We wanted to go to dog parks, take her over with my family, take her to his familiy’s house, but we can’t do any of that with her.

I have no good advice… b/c that pretty much sounds like my dog without the fighting with other dogs. We’re just very careful with him. I try not to walk him too much b/c I’m 29 weeks pregnant and if he sees a cat or squirrel he could try to take off. We always hold on to him when the door is open b/c we’re terrified that he’ll run out. I know he’s not the most well behaved dog, but I love him and wouldn’t give him up for anything.

I would definiely sign up for obedience class ASAP. When we adopted our dog, he was around three years old. I knew he would probably be the oldest dog in the class, and I knew how to train him myself, but we took him for socialization around dogs and people, because of his history of abuse. Older dogs CAN learn new tricks. Especially because they tend to have longer attention spans than puppies.

I’m curious as to how you have always had well-trained dogs if you’ve never done obedience classes? Have you trained them yourself or just adopted already trained dogs or….? Or maybe you’ve done classes, but only with a puppy? I am not trying to be mean, I am just trying to figure out your training experience.

Dogfights can happen, even with well-trained dogs. The other dog had recently had surgery, so it sounds like he was in no mood to put up with your dog’s antics, even if she meant no harm. If she is not well-socialized with other dogs, she may not have recognized the warning signs he was giving her, (or because of the sedation/pain, he may not have given any). And I am sure you know your FI’s wrist getting broken was not malicious, but a fluke accident…the dog saw the stick and jumped over it and your man didn’t. Really can’t blame that on the dog. Although I don’t think I would rollerblade with her until she has better on-leash skills.

Door-dashing is a serious problem…you say you made her sit, but does she also know either “Wait” or “Stay”? If not, she probably sees nothing wrong with what she did. She DID sit when you told her to, she just didn’t realize she needed to STAY sitting. A reliable recall is also a HUGE must-have for a dog, since these commands can save their life. These are things you’ll learn at a basic obedience class, (as well as on-leash manners). It will also increase the bond you have with your dog, and you get to meet other dogs and owners for socialization for you AND your dog. A lot of people retake classes they have already taken just because it’s fun. Also, it sounds like your dog has a lot of engergy, (and probably also needs more mental stimulation as well). She would probably be a great candidate for agility training, but most places require you to pass a basic obedience class first.

Also, watching tv shows like “It’s Me or the Dog” will help you learn ideas to deal with common obedience problems. I love that show. We have done foster care for a variety of dogs, with a variety of training levels, and that show has really helped us deal with some of their issues, (there just isn’t time or money to take every foster to obedience classes, but taking our own dog as well as watching shows like this have given us great ideas). It’s entertaining AND educational TV! Some dogs really enjoy watching it, too. Ours ignores it unless the dog on there is REALLY going nuts.

Ridgebacks are tough. A friend of mine got one and was never able to give it the exercise it needed. She wound up sending it to live with her mother, away from children and other dogs.

Very little of what I learned training my golden retriever applied to her ridgeback, so I think it’s totally plausible to have had well trained dogs before and not have things working smoothing with this one. They are awesome dogs, but they have different needs from the average companion dog.

I think it’s smart to get a trainer, but I’d work privately and I’d make sure the person worked with ridgebacks or at least highly motivated hunting dogs.

YUP…Obedience class.I think a group one would be good because then she will be learning with other dogs/distractions and will have to concentrate on you and block the others out. We did Clicker training with our dogs aka positive reinforcement training and it worked like a charm. They both learn new commands and tricks so quickly with the technique.

Also walks may not be enough for such a high energy dog….if she isnt good around other dogs yet maybe try to find a fenced in spot with out other dogs ( tennis Court, baseball field ) so that she doesnt dash and play some fetch or some hide and seek to exercise her hunting instinct. She is a smart breed of dog and may be bored with just a walk around the block.

I wish I lived closer to you…our Newfie is High energy and gets along with every dog he has ever met and could tire your furkid out in no time…a tired dog is a good dog!! 🙂

I took our new beagle to obedience classes – but not for your reasons. Ours is for potty training. Weirdly enough – the entire time she was in obedience training she never pottied in our house! It teaches them to respect that YOU are the leader – aka PACK LEADER 🙂 I was so surprised by what the trainer was telling me – simple stuff that owners do that sends the wrong impression to their dog.

I learned that when you are out walking with your dog – do not let them stop and sniff on their own time. If you do – then they are leading YOU 🙂 Not the other way around. She also taught me how to walk my dog – sounds crazy – but when you let them walk a million miles in front of you on the chain – they are in charge. So I got a new chain and now she walks right beside me – and I tell her when she can stop and sniff or have potty breaks. Made a world of difference in my dog – they just need to learn respect!! Good luck!

I took my Kobe (a stubborn shih tzu) to puppy kindergarten but here we are 5 years later and hes as bad as ever but thats my fault because hes just so cute that when he annoys me I pick him up and put him somewhere he cant (or rather) wont jump down from… like my bed (its too high for him to jump) or the kitchen chairs.

He doesnt mess in the house but when you yell at him he gets you back by taking your socks or underwear *sigh* you gotta love ’em!!

Anyhow the best think I can recommend to you is to take your dog for training… Pet Smart and Petco usually has a few classes or contact the shelter where you adopted her from they should be able to help. Remember the key with good training is to be consistent if you let them get off the hook once youre be in trouble like me but my dog is 10lbs so its okay in your case not so much. Also, maybe its a good idea to research a little on the breed so you have an idea of what they need as far as excercise, life style, etc etc This way you have an idea of what your working with

Umm… I don’t mean to cast stones after the fact but quite frankly you scare me when you can type things like how difficult your dog is to walk (needing the gentle leader, doggie back pack, running away from the house and not responding to commands) and then you mention your husband taking her rollerblading. If you already knew your dog was difficult to walk why would anyone in their right mind put themselves in a position where they couldn’t control the dog? You need both feet firmly on the ground to stop a dog that big. Putting yourself on wheels is just an accident waiting to happen.

Instead of blaming the dog for a silly action your husband’s part (and yours for not speaking up earlier) you should be thanking whatever deity you believe in that it was a stick in the road and not the dog trying to chase a cat/dog/squirrel/random object across the street that could have ended with your husband flying over a car windshield and not just with a fractured wrist.

Obedience classes would be good not only for the dog but for yourself and your husband because it will give you better expectations on the type of behavior to expect and how to prepare yourself to deal with it accordingly.

I hope your husband is okay now and that you both learned a valuable lesson from that experience.

We used a private group class and it was great for our dog. the only thing is that YOU need to be responsible in following up on it. I think out here our class was $179 for 8 weeks and it did wonders for both us and our dog. We intended to take the next class as well, to refine our skills, but we ended up with some medical issues with our dog and couldn’t continue. Either way, taking the basic obedience class will help you both learn who’s who in your relationship, and establish tools you can continue to use even after the class is over. Also, we think that doing it in the group setting helped with distractions. It taught her that even though there were other dogs and people and noises around that we were still the ones she needed to be paying attention to.

btw, we have a Catahoula/Cattle dog mix, so she’s smart as all get out and has LOTS of energy, we find a tired dog is a way more well behaved dog! Also, have to tried looking into a raw food diet? We had our dog of raw for almost a year and we can totally tell the difference in her moods and energy levels, she was WAY more balanced on the raw diet!

I’d definitely go to a private dog class- skip the petco one and check our your local SPCA or someone with a local business and a passion for teaching you and your dog 🙂

@Miss Apricot: Well, I’ve had dogs all my life and we have always gotten them from shelters. But we have always gotten puppies (like between 8-12 weeks old). I’ve always trained them myself and had really good success.

As far as when I told her to sit at the door, she does know “wait” but I’m still working on the length of time to have to wait there. She has a hard time with distractions, like someone at the door.

I’m going to start recording “It’s me or the Dog”. DH and I are fans of Dog Whisperer, but that show might be better with obedience training. Thanks for your advice!

@Miss Lilac: Like I said in my original post, we knew she needed some work, but we were and are willing to do that. I know she needs obedience classes obviously, but thanks for the comment anyway.

@Jeannine @ Small Chic: They had originally listed her as a “retriever mix”… which is basically saying “We have no idea WHAT the heck she is!” lol. We ended up figuring out that she must be a Ridgeback because of some of her personality traits and her looks. Honestly, I’m not sure I would have adopted if I knew she was a ridgeback because I know they are super high energy dogs! Lol.

@ebill23: The tennis court idea is GREAT!! Thank you! I would have never thought of that. It would be a great spot to work on her training. Thank you so much for the encouraging words! I love newfies. Big, huge teddy bears. 🙂

@brittanym526: Thank you so much! I’ve gotten her to the point in our walking where she walks beside me and I try not to let her sniff or go potty until I say so. It doesn’t always work, when a dog’s gotta poo, a dog’s gotta poo! Lol.

@IAmLemondrop: My husband actually was able to control her pretty well on the leash and was able to stop/redirect her while they were out. We live on a really empty street and barely have any cars driving on it, so that was never an issue. We would have never taken her out rollerblading if it was a busy street. Also, I never said that I was blaming her for my husband’s accident. Far from it. I know that it was a fluke since he had been rollerblading with her without an incident for a few months. I mentioned it to explain my further frustration with her. I also know we need obedience classes, which is why I wrote this post in the first place and to get advice and suggestions from others who have had problem dogs. Thanks for your input though!

@breezybri19: Thanks for the advice. I think skipping the Petco/mart obedience class would be good. I don’t even think they do adult classes, do they? We are planning on starting to research some dog training facilities in our city tonight to find out some more information.

We don’t have her on a raw diet, but we do have her on a grain-free one. Where do you get the food for a raw diet?

Ridgebacks are truly amazing dogs, but their prey drive is absolutely incredible. I would suspect that those who haven’t met any might not understand them. It’s an African hunting dog, folks. It was used to hunt lions.

Good luck! She’s lucky to have you. I imagine many people would have given up by now.

Also look up NILF (nothing in life is free) training. The dog has to do a trick for ANY environmental reward, going outside, getting fed, walking through a door, playing with you etc. It helps the dog understand you are the giver of all good things in life and will start listening to you better. Also you and your DH need to be on the same page and do the exact same training with her.